Mountain Biking (or was it hiking?) in Batangas City

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Yesterday's ride in Batangas City is something that I've been planning to do for the longest time. It always gets canceled either because I had other things to do during the weekend or I just couldn't get up at 4:30 in the morning to drive to my hometown (which is often the case).

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I was thinking we would be doing a long ride -- something like a ride to Ibaan via Taysan, but that didn't happen. Instead, our trail master took us trail riding from somewhere in Gulod and ended in Dumuclay. It was an OK ride and the views were fantastic. I just didn't the enjoy the hike-a-bikes that we did when we crossed a number of streams.

After the ride, we had some pancit guisado from Jocas Lomi Haus in Libjo before heading back to the city.

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I believe the highlight of the day was what we did after I washed the bike in Eric's place. Because I didn't have an open area in the condo to do my usual bike maintenance, I pulled out my bike stand and toolbox from the trunk of the car. As if attracted by a magnet, Onad and Eric approached me to help out as I was setting up at one corner of the carwash. They basically took over from there - first, checking out what's wrong with my shifting, then moving to degreasing and re-lubing my chain, and ended up with an overhauled front derailleur and a fresh new shifter cable. These guys can basically open their own bike repair shop if they wanted to. While they were doing their thing, they were alway giving me tips - things like using a liquid lubricant instead of using grease when lubricating the shifter cables, and putting some drops of chain lube to the cable housing ends. Nice! Now I have a crisp-shifting bike that's ready to take over the world again.

For those interested in riding our mountain "hike" trail, here's the GPS map:

Comments

Anonymous said…
parang ang sarap nga naman talagang magbike oh.. sir madami din po bang female bikers? I'm a female and planning na buhayin yung cannondale m500 bike na nakatambak dito sa house ng tatay ko.. sana lang makahanap ng grupo na puro females naman, baka malungkot lang ko lalo pagbike alone.. hehehe gusto ko rin matry yang mga trail rides na yan kasi
Jovan Puyo said…
More than ever, marami na ngayon female mountain bikers! So that means I'm encouraging you to revive that Cannondale M500 bike. :)

If you're looking for other females to ride with, there's this online group called MTBabes at the PinoyMTBikers forum. Here's the link:
http://www.pinoymtbiker.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=12

You're also welcome to ride with us if you want. We're pretty damn slow nga lang. Hehehehe!
Gwen said…
Thanks sa reply sir, and for giving me that link. =)

I will definitely check that out. I just inspected our '96 cannondale m500 last night, some parts are missing and needs replacement. the handlegrip ay natunaw na together with the grip shift, and nawala din yung wheel-lock na lever sa front and rear(not sure with the term).. hmm I am having a thought na ibenta ko na lang kaya yung frame since it's still big for my body/height (by judging the looks of it since di ko masakyan dahil di makabit yung gulong..hehe) then buy a new one na fit sa size ko. I was 13 or 14 years old (that's 12/13 years ago) nung last na magamit ko tong bike and i can remember di ko maabot ang dulo ng pedal when at 180 degrees south kahit sagad na baba na yung upuan so I was just sitting on the top tube of the frame that time.. lol hopefully my current height is enough for that old frame, can't find the frame size mark.

Thanks again sir for the encouragement. Hope maka-join ako sa group nyo one day. =)
Jovan Puyo said…
Hi Gwen!

Kung hindi mo nga ka-size, better sell na lang that frame and get a one that fits you well.

Maraming nagbebenta ng second-hand frames and even full bikes online. Go to PhilMofo, BikesTradesPH, and PMTB.